Peanut Butter & Jelly Therapeutic Preschools

At PB&J's Main Center in Albuquerque's South Valley, there are three therapeutic classrooms. At the Satellite Center in the Town of Bernalillo, PB&J has two therapeutic classrooms. Each classroom is staffed with at least two Family Intervention Specialists. PB&J also has licensed clinicians, including Master's Level Counselors and Social Workers, Art and Play Therapists, as well as Nursing services including a Family Nurse Practitioner.

Both of the Peanut Butter & Jelly Therapeutic Preschools are accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and are PB&J's largest programs in terms of the number of clients served annually.

Children, birth to age five, and their parents attend class two hours a day, four days a week. Sessions focus on hands-on parenting, developmental, and behavioral issues. For example, staff might work with parents to help them understand appropriate developmental milestones for their children or how to manage a child's behavior.

Peanut Butter & Jelly began as a volunteer effort in 1972 and was funded for the first time in 1974. When during its early years, a child asked "what's the name of this school?" Another child responded "call it Peanut Butter & Jelly ... because that's what we eat all the time." In fact, peanut butter and jelly was in abundant supply from the commodity food programs that helped to provide the food and snacks for the school at the time.